“Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”” Luke 17:1-4 NKJV

God’s forgiveness is there, waiting to be received. We who belong to Him, having received His gift of forgiveness, are called to forgive in likeness to Him. To do so, we must understand and fully receive God’s forgiveness.

Isaiah 43:25 reveals to us that God chooses forgiveness for His own sake. Choosing forgiveness before repentance is seen is a choice that protects from the tendency to give up on a desired relationship. It protects the one who chooses forgiveness from being hindered from moving forward, being hurt mentally and spiritually by bitterness, anger, hate, and other such maladies that take hold to destroy life, filling hearts with inability to trust and give unconditional love.

We who are called by His name are responsible before God to forgive those who offend us in the likeness of His forgiveness given to us. However, God’s forgiveness for us is not ours to possess until we reach out through repentance to receive it. Until we actively receive God’s gift of forgiveness, provided by His grace, we will not possess the relationship with Him that He desires with us.

Jesus died in the place of us sinners to provide us The Way to receive God’s forgiveness. His provision is ours once we reach out from repentant hearts to The Father, through Him who is the propitiation (full payment) owed by us because of our sin. God provided The Way for us to enter healed and full, eternal relationship with Him as we believe The Truth of The Christ, and receive The Life eternal and made new that only He provides for us.

We show ourselves recipients of that new life as we live the life He calls us to with every breath He graciously supplies. For the remainder of our earthly dwelling, we are to walk out the salvation we are freely given, maintaining a healthy relationship with God that glorifies Him and reveals His love to others.

If you’ve not received the greatest gift ever given, reach out and take it with a believing heart that recognizes it’s sinful ways that stand against this holy God, requiring God’s forgiveness. Reach to Him, ready to receive His grace with a heart that is determined to live for Him, knowing He is holding His gift out, ready to give. Then reach out to a Christ-centered friend and seek to be baptized into Christ, joining His fold in a fellowship that teaches truth from the full gospel of Christ, where Christian fellowship and encouragement for growth is found.

Baptism into Christ is a vital step of obedience in one’s salvation experience and is not to be taken lightly. Like marriage vows done as God intended, it is a joining in union with Him, fully entering the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Buried with Him in water baptism, we are raised to receive and walk in newness of life, fully committing oneself to walk forevermore in full relationship with God, determined to live life as one belonging to Him. When we step out of those waters, we leave the eternal grave and our old, flesh-driven life behind to walk in the new, Spirit-filled and directed life God calls us to live according to His wisdom found in His Word. As a new slate, clean and fresh, we now live a life written out for us to possess in a way that honors Him as Savior, God, Father, and King.

Get into God’s Word every day, starting with the New Testament. Reading it is important, but it is also vital to find someone who can teach you how to study God’s Word for the fullest benefit of understanding. Stay in the New Testament until you have a firm grasp of the covenant agreement you are called to, and walk in His ways for the remainder of your days.

The Old Testament is important to understand as well, but it is best understood in light of the full truth found in the New Covenant. This is the call to new life given through the gift of forgiveness found in Christ. God bless you as you make full use of the gift found in Christ, and fully established in us as we grow strong in God’s word.